Wasn’t sure about this from the description. I’m not into late Coltrane too much, which I assumed is what is meant by your word “spirituality” (I’ll spin A Love Supreme on occasion, though) The 70’s, post-Bitches Brew fusion era leaves me cold apart from a handful of albums and about a thousand sampled loops (it was great for hip hop!)

What I’m saying is, I didn’t think I would like this, but wanted to satisfy my curiosity. It ain’t none of that. This stuff is dope.

I listen to a ton of jazz. Not having grown up during the era(s) and not part of a scene, it’s hard to critique or analyze it like how I can with rock or hip hop. But to me, this sounds like really good jazz of it’s time rather than some kind of offshoot buzzwordy kind of jazz. I think that is the common thread in all the stuff I like, but the 70s are weird since that’s when the scene seemed to really fracture and unravel. A lot of the CTI stuff of this time is great, but also real fusiony, like try-hard-to-stay-hip-to-the-times sounds. I have a couple Pablo label records that feel more “right” to me, but they are very slow and moody whereas this Black Jazz music is more energetic, which to me seems more “right.”

Man, this stuff is just excellent; listening to that Aunt Lovey organ attack now.

I can’t recall seeing any of these records in any crates I’ve ever dug, they must be super rare.

Thanks for the tip (ordered it as a pre-christmas treat to myself). As you’d expect you can’t go wrong with Soul Jazz’s excellent compilation - The Best Of Black Jazz 1971-1976 (2003), sadly as you’d also expect it looks to be out of print now (Amazon UK has one copy through a 3rd party vendor at £35).